Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

Celluloid
by Dave McKean

282-page full-color 7" x 9.25" hardcover • $35.00
ISBN: 978-1-60699-440-5

See Previews / Order Now

A woman arrives at an apartment, but her partner can’t get away from work. She is disappointed and settles in for a night alone, but finds a film projector with a reel of film loaded. The film is scratched and blurry, but she can make out a couple making love. When the film burns out, a door is revealed which leads to a misty town square... and a series of fantastical sexual encounters.

But the plot doesn’t really matter. Celluloid is a rare instance (especially among Anglo-Saxons) of a top-flight cartoonist working within erotic — even pornographic, to embrace the word — parameters, with the intent of creating a genuine work of art.

As the artist says: “There are so many comics about violence. I’m not entertained or amused by violence, and I’d rather not have it in my life. Sex, on the other hand, is something the vast majority of us enjoy, yet it rarely seems to be the subject of comics. Pornography is usually bland, repetitive and ugly, and, at most, ‘does the job.’ I always wanted to make a book that is pornographic, but is also, I hope, beautiful, and mysterious, and engages the mind.”

Bringing to bear the astonishing range of illustrative and storytelling skills that have served him so well on his collaborations with Neil Gaiman and such solo projects as the (recently re-released) epic graphic novel Cages, Dave McKean forges into new territory with this unique work of erotica.

Comics Alliance's Andy Khouri shares a bunch of gorgeous images from Dave McKean's Celluloid and offers some commentary and links related to the book:

"On sale soon from Fantagraphics, Celluloid is the story of a woman who, during a moment of sexual frustration, discovers a film projector and reel of film that depicts a couple having sex. In a twist familiar to fans of McKean's work with Neil Gaiman, this woman finds herself traveling from our world into a dreamlike realm of sexual fantasies that's presented in the artist's trademarked style(s). As the story progresses, so too does the form of McKean's artwork."

Censor bars ahoy!

For your shopping pleasure, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will be open Memorial Day weekend, Saturday 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sunday and Monday 11:30 to 5:00 PM. Check out Charles Peterson's Taking Punk to the Masses show and pick up some lit to enrich your long weekend.

Mark your calendars now for Saturday, June 11!

Jim Woodring signing Congress of the Animals at the festive Georgetown Carnival. Come see Larry and Bella defend their title in Hazard Factory's popular Power Tool Races. This year it's a Peter Bagge-inspired Monster Truck powered by a Black & Decker "Dragster" model belt sander. (I'm swear that's what it's called.) Art, music, circus acts, sideshows, carnival games, comix, cotton candy. What else is there?

The Comics Journal #301
Edited by Mike Dean & Kristy Valenti; Gary Groth, Editor in Chief

640-page black & white/color 6.75" x 8.5" softcover • $30.00
ISBN: 978-1-60699-291-3

Ships in: July 2011 (subject to change) — Pre-Order Now

The Comics Journal has been, for almost 35 years, the standard bearer of critical inquiry, discrimination, debate, and serious discussion of comics as art, and the object of love and devotion among the comics cognescenti — and hate and scorn among the philistines, natch. We published our 300th issue in late 2009 and spent the ensuing year-plus re- conceptualizing the institution as an annual book-length “magazine” — over 600 pages long, chock full of the kinds of criticism, interviews, commentary, and history that has made it the most award-winning and critically lauded magazine in the history of comics.

This volume features a focus on R. Crumb’s most commercially successful project of his career, his comics adaptation of Genesis, including the most extensive interview he’s given on the subject as well as a long critical roundtable among six comics critics reviewing the book and debating each other over its merits; plus:

• An interview with Joe Sacco about his recent journalistic masterpiece, Footnotes in Gaza;

• A peek into the private sketchbooks of (and accompanying interviews with) Jim Woodring, Tim Hensley, and the novelist Stephen Dixon;

• A conversation between Mad Fold-Out creator Al Jaffee and Thrizzle auteur Michael Kupperman;

• A complete full-color reprinting of the 1950s "Gerald McBoing Boing" comic;

• The first significant biographical essay charting the turn-of-the-century cartoonist and illustrator John T. McCutcheon;

• A critical re-assessment of Dave Sim's Cerebus by Tim Kreider

and essays and reviews by R. Fiore, R.C. Harvey, Chris Lanier, Rob Clough, and others.

Over 600 pages long, this is a year's worth of The Comics Journal rolled into one extraordinary objet d'art. As a special treat, this volume is guest designed by internationally respected Criterion art director Eric Skillman. The Comics Journal #301 is no mere magazine but a gigantic compendium covering comics past and present that will shock and delight every truly curious comics reader.

Video & Photo Slideshow Preview (view in new window):

One issue not enough? Get on board with a money-saving 3-issue subscription, which also gets you access to the online TCJ back-issue archives at TCJ.com! 

Just arrived in our warehouse and ready to ship:

Isle of 100,000 Graves
by Jason and Fabien Vehlmann

56-page full-color 7.25" x 10.25" softcover • $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-442-9

See Previews / Order Now

Five years ago, little Gwenny’s father found, inside a bottle, a map with instructions on how to reach the mysterious Isle of 100,000 Graves and its legendary treasures — and then he vanished. Now Gwenny, having stumbled across another bottle-shipped map, enlists the dubious help of a shipful of pirates, sets out to find the island, and her long-lost dad.

Little does she realize that the Isle comes by its ominous name honestly, as the location of a secret school for executioners and torturers, where apple-cheeked youngsters are taught the finer points of extracting information from prisoners… and then putting an end to their lives in a wide variety of gruesome ways. And they’ve reached the point in their studies where theory should ideally give way to practice, so an influx of uninvited visitors comes as a blessing to the faculty.

And yes, this story is a comedy. Albeit a dark one.

For the first time in his career, Jason has enlisted a writer: Fabien Vehlmann. (Vehlmann has written a number of graphic novels for the French and American markets, including an installment of the legendary Spirou series and the three-volume Green Manor continuity, of which two volumes have been released in English.) Vehlmann has managed to interiorize Jason’s deadpan style and wit perfectly, creating a uniquely smooth and successful collaboration.

Also, just reprinted and back in stock:

Why Are You Doing This?
by Jason

48-page full-color 7.25" x 10.25" softcover • $12.95 $9.71
ISBN: 978-1-56097-655-4

Jason's first full-color book, from 2005. In this deadpan, Hitchcock-meets-Jarmusch thriller, a moody twenty-something wallowing in post-breakup depression finds himself drawn into a paranoid's worst nightmare after his best friend is murdered and the blame is pinned on him.

I Killed Adolf Hitler
by Jason

48-page full-color 7.25" x 10.25" softcover • $12.95 $9.71
ISBN: 978-1-56097-655-4

2008 Eisner Award winner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material. A hitman is hired to travel back in time to kill Hitler in 1939... but things go very wrong. Hitler escapes to the present, leaving the killer stranded in the past. This surprising thriller unfolds with Jason's wickedly dry humor.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Like Saturday morning cartoons, Yeah! was about a kind of science fiction that embraced weirdo aliens rather than science fact. From alt-comix came characters that were outcasts, lived on the margins of society, or had outsider personalities. Instead of being offensive and edgy, this unusual comic book series was imaginative and inventive. ...[I]t was an all-ages gem, and I’m glad that it's back..." – Leroy Douresseaux, I Reads You

• Review: "How does Peter Bagge stay so good after all these years? Hate Annual #9 was as good as any of the previous issues of Hate (possibly better?). I guess that's why he's one of the all time greats. He just stays good year after year, issue after issue. This latest offering involving Buddy and his wife Lisa and son Harold visiting Lisa's parents in Seattle was hilarious, awkward and sublime! It's a hell of an issue and I want to see what happens next..." – P.D. Houston, Renderwrx Productions

• Review: "I was not familiar with Leila Marzocchi's work before [Niger #3], so the subtlety and nuance of her scratchy dark art entranced me right away. It's spooky yet tame enough to remind me of top notch children's book style illustration.... The art is so lovely [that] even when I wasn't sure what exactly was happening story wise, the work on the page was enough to keep me involved." – P.D. Houston, Renderwrx Productions

• Commentary: At Robot 6, Sean T. Collins comments on fellow CBR columnist Chris Mautner's interview with Celluloid creator Dave McKean

• Coming Attractions: In the latest "Graphic Novel Prepub Alert" from Library Journal, Martha Cornog spotlights a bunch of our upcoming Fall releases:

Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture: A Career Retrospective: "Boomer veterans of Mad magazine will remember Davis's exuberant caricatures, windows into the 1950s and 1960s. Davis also worked extensively on horror, war, and Western titles for EC Comics and other publishers, and his mangier version of the Crypt-Keeper became the character's portrait. Known as a super-fast worker, Davis turned out a huge amount of work, and this collection brings together a variety of comics and commercial art from every stage of his checkered career."

Oil & Water by Steve Duin & Shannon Wheeler: "In 2010, Duin and Wheeler joined a group from Oregon touring the environs of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. And, it appears, theirs is the first graphic novel reportage on the devastating BP blowout.... You will buy this."

The Hidden by Richard Sala: "Classic setup: a bunch of strangers stranded in a diner during a snowstorm, with a killer on the loose outside. And just for extra fun, maybe a global catastrophe in the works.... Clean line color drawings with a tongue-in-cheek feel."

Mark Twain's Autobiography 1910-2010 by Michael Kupperman: "The recent publication of Twain's real autobiography sets the stage for mocking the master of mockery, who surely would have chortled at the homage. This Twain tells of hunting the Yeti ('Come out here and face me, you snow-covered coward!'), meeting the Six Million Dollar Man, having a love affair with Mamie Eisenhower ('Boy oh boy, this lady was one hot dish'), and accidentally becoming involved in X-rated films. Proceed at your own risk!"

• Plug: "From his musings on Hamlet to his thoughts on the TV show Married..with Children, Alexander Theroux covers pop culture, literature, and high art while he takes us on a rambling tour of this tiny Baltic country. Theroux examines Estonia’s language and customs in order to get a larger view of a land which holds a population of less than two million. As he states, 'Seeing Estonia — disrobing her — was my focus.'" – Kathleen Massara, Flavorpill "10 Most Anticipated Summer Reads"

• Plug: "...[T]he [Paul] Nelson bio [Everything Is an Afterthought], I have to say, is completely amazing, one of the half dozen greatest music books I’ve ever read..." – Scott Woods, rockcritics.com

Wilfred Santiago (left) & GWAR's Oderus Urungus (right) at New York Comicon, 1992. Photo posted by Wilfred on Flickr.

We've featured these here before, but now there's context!

Johnny Ryan did this poster for his friend's Calvin Lee Reeder's film The Oregonian and interviewed Reeder for Vice. Johnny has the trailer on his blog.

Johnny did this one for the band Tribes and you can buy one in Johnny's online shop.

(cover design subject to change)

At his blog, The Steve Ditko Archives editor Blake Bell spills the beans on the upcoming third volume, Mysterious Traveler, due in January 2012!

"What makes this volume so special," says Blake, "is that meteoric improvement in Ditko’s work as he toils in obscurity for a company that treated their comic books like toilet paper for their more profitable magazine and song books. Such is the irony of one of the great living artists of the 20th century – working with stories churned out for an audience of children, Ditko produced the highest quality material in the industry with no editorial oversight at an amazing pace (all the stories within were produced in 1957 alone)."

Check out Blake's post for the whole scoop, and you can keep up with all the latest updates by "liking" The Steve Ditko Archives Facebook page and/or by following @blake_bell on Twitter.

Oh snap, Johnny Ryan dropped a bomb on Facebook last night — this brand new cover art for Prison Pit: Book 3, coming this September! (You may remember the previous version of the cover with the horned demon-looking dude.) Word is he's finished the book and it's even more insane than the first two volumes so gird yourselves!